Westhove Castle

Westhove Castle, locally known as Kasteel Westhove, lies next to the town of Domburg, in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands.

Westhove Castle was probably built in the beginning of the 13th century, between the villages of Domburg and Oostkapelle. It consisted of a moated castle and bailey separated by a moat. The bailey had three entrances and two round towers. The castle itself also had two towers.

The castle and the surrounding lands became the property of the Abbey of Middelburg in 1277. It served as the summer residence of the abbots.

Around 1560 the castle's west side was extended. And in 1562 the castle became an episcopal summer mansion.

In 1572 it was stormed by the Sea Beggars because of its Spanish occupation and partially destroyed. Only the north face of the castle was spared. After this the castle was rebuilt and again made suitable for habitation.

In the second half of the 19th century the exterior of the castle was plastered but in the beginning of the 20th century this plaster was removed again.

In the beginning of the 20th century the castle was used as a nursing home for children. During WWII the castle was again heavily damaged. In 1948 the outside of the castle was repaired, followed in 1977 by a thorough restoration of its interiors.

Because of all these changes during the castle's history, caused by damages and the following repairs, not much remains of the real medieval castle. What we see today mostly dates back to the 17th and 18th century.

The castle is now used as a Youth Hostel and lies in a nature reserve only a couple of minutes walk from the beaches. It can only be visited by guests of the Youth Hostel.

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